Tracey Lee's 3 favorite reads in 2023

This is a beautifully told story of a highly imaginative and creative child who, left to her own devises, makes a world for herself and siblings to escape the neglect of the self-indulgent adults who have little interest in raising them.

Cristabel Seagrave is courageous, fiercely loyal, and protective. She sees the magic in the environment and people around her and when she makes a theatre from the whalebones she claims as hers, she brings that world to life for others. The book reaffirmed for me the exquisite nature of childhood imagination and the resilience of the human spirit.

I’m a big fan of the character John Rebus and Ian Rankin’s series about this tough, old-school Scottish detective whose past is finally catching up with him in this book.

Rankin brings back all the players who have been enemies and allies of Rebus. I love the way the story ties up the loose ends of old cases and despite Rebus’s retirement from the force he is still on the hunt to punish the perpetrators of long-forgotten crimes.

I love his sarcasm and fearlessness. The rough tenderness and genuine regret for things undone makes him a believable character who knows he is on his way out, accepts the inevitability of his own wrongdoings and is prepared to face whatever is coming his way.  

The sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas does not disappoint. The power of guilt and ghastliness of WWII are some of the elements woven into Gretel Fernsby’s story.

It is an interesting perspective as it is told by a 91-year-old woman who was undoubtedly on the wrong side of history as a child. The story balances the longevity of blame with Gretel’s right to keep her past a secret and as a reader I found myself moving between understanding why there could be no forgiveness for the horrors of Nazism and the recognition of the fact that a child does not get choices about which side they are on in a war.